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AnAge entry for Sylvilagus floridanus


Classification (HAGRID: 02930)
TaxonomyKingdom: Animalia
    Phylum: Chordata
        Class: Mammalia (Taxon entry)
            Order: Lagomorpha
                Family: Leporidae
                    Genus: Sylvilagus
SpeciesSylvilagus floridanus
Common nameEastern cottontail

Lifespan, ageing, and relevant traits

Maximum longevity9.8 years (captivity)
SourceSteven Austad, pers. comm.
Sample sizesmall
Data qualityacceptable
Observations

In the wild, these animals appear to live up to 5 years. In captivity, they have been reported to live more than 9 years [0001]. One captive specimen lived 8.4 years at Tulsa Zoo [0671]. There are anecdotal reports, which may be true, of one animal living 9.8 years in captivity (Steven Austad, pers. comm.). Other estimates suggest they may live over 10 years [0697], but this is unverified.

Life history traits (averages)

Female sexual maturity123 days
Male sexual maturity
Gestation30 days
Weaning24 days
Litter size5 (viviparous)
Litters per year3.9
Inter-litter interval30 days
Weight at birth40 g
Weight at weaning118.5 g
Adult weight1,150 g
Postnatal growth rate0.0243 days-1 (from Gompertz function)
Maximum longevity residual68 %

Metabolism

No information on metabolism available.

References

[0671] Richard Weigl (2005), Longevity of Mammals in Captivity; from the Living Collections of the World
[0610] Ernest (2003), Life history characteristics of placental non-volant mammals
[0434] Ronald Nowak (1999), Walker's Mammals of the World
[0676] Purvis and Harvey (1995), Mammal life-history evolution: a comparative test of Charnov’s model
[0455] Virginia Hayssen et al. (1993), Asdell's Patterns of Mammalian Reproduction: A Compendium of Species-Specific Data
[0680] Wootton (1987), The effects of body mass, phylogeny, habitat, and trophic level on mammalian age at first reproduction
[0731] Zullinger et al. (1984), Fitting sigmoid equations to mammalian growth curves
[0697] Chapman et al. (1980), Sylvilagus floridanus
[0001] Longevity Records: Life Spans of Mammals, Birds, Amphibians, Reptiles, and Fish

External resources

Integrated Taxonomic Information SystemITIS 180124
Animal Diversity WebADW account
Encyclopedia of LifeSearch EOL
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